Before we get started today I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that yes I have in fact sold out. I had the opportunity to monetize the blog by trying to bring in some ad money and I decided that it was a good opportunity. I assure you that it was not an easy decision for me to make, but I would hope that with enough support I might open some new doors that will benefit you, my dear reader, and me, your humble blogger. Bottom line is I do this because I love it, but if there is any chance I could pay the bills with it I would jump at the opportunity.
As you might have noticed I have written a couple columns in which I had add on information afterwards. My column on trilogies is no different. I apologize that a lot of my posts are at a late hour and sometime my thoughts are not complete at the time of publication. With the "Trilogies" post I neglected to factor in how fan expectations also contribute to the perceived failure of a third chapter. In all fairness to the writers, directors, actors, and crew sometimes we, as fans, set the bar unrealistically high. This was very evident with "The Dark Knight Rises" Director Christopher Nolan painted himself into a corner, and the fans helped to keep him there. "The Dark Knight" was the perfect Batman movie.
The problems that it made for the third chapter were numerous. One could consider any one of the following: the movie had a cliffhanger ending that left fans craving conclusion, Heath Ledger (who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) died, and "The Dark Knight" was critically acclaimed, which at that time was relatively unheard of for a comic book movie. One can look to the fan reception to the series finales of "Lost", "Dexter", "Seinfeld", "Breaking Bad", and many other fan favorite shows to see what happens when expectations and reality intersect.
NEWS......
WB/DC took the opportunity today to announce that Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network", "Adventureland", "Zombieland") has been cast as Lex Luthor for the DC Cinematic Universe. They also announced that Jeremy Irons ("Lolita", "Die Hard: With a Vengeance") has been cast to play Alfred Pennyworth.
First, lets take a look at the good. Irons is a fantastic actor, and he is of a different age and body shape than previous cinematic Alfred's. My hope against hope would be that Irons will portray the ex-intelligence agent/military officer Pennyworth that was featured in Geoff Johns' "Batman: Earth One". Johns version was a fresh take on the character, and made him an even more capable partner to the Dark Knight than previous versions.
Next, lets take a look at the "could be good". We know Eisenberg can portray a rich douche from his time as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg is a decent actor, but can come off as a big budget Michael Cera. While I quite enjoyed Eisenberg in "Adventureland" and "Zombieland" I couldn't really say that he is a must see actor for me in anything else. On the plus side he is the same age as the DC Cinematic Universe's Superman Henry Cavill, so they both still have a lot of time left on the clock.
Finally, I have firmly embraced a "wait and see" approach for this movie/film universe. With each new news item that comes out I say to myself "It could be good". My gut feeling though is that if all of this casting is for one film it is going to be a bloated mess. I never in my life thought I would be more excited about an upcoming "Spider-man" movie than to see Batman and Superman on screen together. It is very troubling indeed, but I will try stay positive at least until we see the first trailer.
I hope that WB/DC can pull this off because more and more people are looking at their film choices and saying "Make mine a Marvel".
That is all for this week at The Comic Shop....join me next week for a new column I have tentatively titled "The Anti-Hero Dilemma". Thanks for Reading!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Trilogies....
The trilogy is inarguably one of the more difficult things to pull off in the cinematic world. Not even including comic movies we have seen some of the biggest franchises fall flat on their face when attempting a third and final chapter.
Think about how great "Godfather I" & "Godfather II" are in juxtaposition to the third chapter. George Lucas brought us one of the grandest epics we have ever seen but it is hard to argue that "Return of the Jedi" was really the best way to finish that series.
Recently we watched our favorite armored hero Tony Stark go out with a whimper in "Iron Man 3" and we have third chapters of "Kick-Ass", "Thor", and "Captain America" coming down the pipe. I would argue that the "Iron Man" franchise went off the rails during the second chapter, but I digress.
Narrow focusing on comic movies one could say that "Spider-man 3" and "The Dark Knight Rises" were not the ideal note to end a series on. I think the two of these series exemplify why it is so hard to succeed in a final chapter.
If we look comparatively the first film in both series "Spider-man" & "Batman Begins" respectively Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan had a very clear idea of what they wanted to accomplish. They took a "Who am I?" and "How did I come to be?" approach. This is very basic for the origin story, and is not much different from any other first chapter. The first chapter of both films concluded with a neophyte hero at the end of the very beginning of their journey.
The second chapter is a little bit harder to nail down a summary theme; however, I would generally refer to it as "Where am I going?" and "Why do I continue?" In the interest of full disclosure I will admit that "Spider-man 2" and "The Dark Knight" are my two favorite superhero movies of all-time so I am a little biased. A common theme between these two movies is that both heroes have felt the overwhelming burden of the sacrifices that they have had to make to be a hero.
Parker and Wayne are both desperately searching for a way out. Parker has begun to lose his powers and sees it as a sign to walk away, whereas Wayne sees DA Harvey Dent as a man that can do what Batman does without the mask. Their paths diverge a bit toward the end though and Parker finds that he can make responsible choices, but MJ can also make choices. Wayne makes an end-times sacrifice to try to cement his legacy through a straw man Harvey Dent.
Raimi and Nolan had different approaches to the third chapter of their film series. Raimi had every intention of continuing on with the "Spider-man" franchise while it was widely regarded that Nolan intended to bring his Dark Knight epic to a close. This influenced the choices that they made and makes it very hard to find a common theme between the two films other than they were a disappointing end to a film trilogy.
In all honesty it's hard to say what Raimi's motivation was when directing "Spider-man 3". The film is over saturated with villains, plot twists, and character changes. Venom was probably one villain too many in retrospect, but Raimi felt the need to add him out of fan service. He also tried to end Harry's arch, add the Stacys, tell the Sandman's story, give story service to Peter & MJ's relationship, portray Peter's turn to the dark side, and throw in the Raimi humor with J. Jonah Jameson and the rest. It was just too much for a 2 1/2 hour movie. Character development is always a good thing in storytelling, but the character development in "Spider-man 3" made Peter look like a person with bipolar disorder.
"The Dark Knight Rises" was a fun movie overall, but it was plagued with several problems and logical inconsistencies. The most troubling for me, was that Bruce Wayne used his parents death to fashion himself into a living weapon in the last two features only to QUIT BEING BATMAN because his "kind of" girlfriend died. It would've been much easier to accept that he had been working in the shadows for 8 years under the radar. Bane was a fantastic villain, and it was acceptable that the film came full circle with the addition of an Al Ghul but there were a lot more failures than wins on the whole. After two mostly grounded and realistic-ish movies Nolan took the opportunity of the third film to have some really BOMBASTIC stuff that was completely unnecessary. I know I'm dogging on the movie but I would have to rank The Dark Knight trilogy in my top five for sure.
Other Great Moments in Third Chapter History....
-Emo Parker dance routine (Spider-man 3)
-Clark Kent vs. Evil Cigarette Smoking Superman (Superman III)
-Bat-Nipples (Batman Forever & Batman & Robin)
-The Mandarin Twist (Iron Man 3)
-ThunderLips "the ultimate male" (Rocky III)
-Not Peter Weller Robo-cop (Robo-cop III)
-Robot Ninjas (Robo-cop III)
-"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" (Star Wars ep. III)
- JAWS 3-D (Jaws 3-D)
-Ratner (X-3: The Last Stand)
-Axel Fox (Beverly Hills Cop III)
-"Talk to Da Hand" (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
-Turtles in TIME (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III)
That's another column in the books.....just a few news items worth note...mostly rumors so take them with a grain of salt for now.....
- Word is that Lauren Shuler Donner over at Fox has her eyes set on Channing Tatum to take on the role of Gambit that was so inadequately filled by Taylor Kitsch in "X-men Origins: Wolverine". Tatum is still not great casting for this specific role in my eyes, but as I have said before it is more important in this stage of the game to amass star-level talent. Tatum could sell a shit sandwich on the side of the road he's so hot right now.
- ALLEGEDLY.....Marvel's long-range planning for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe involves centering "Avengers" movies around Paul Rudd's Ant-man, the as-yet-uncast Dr. Strange, and other heroes not currently involved with the Avengers. This is in response to Robert Downey Jr.'s desire to walk away, and the likelihood that the ensemble cast is going to want another raise if "Avengers: Age of Ultron" succeeds comparably to the first film entry. My suggestion to Disney/Marvel would be that if you are going to shell out the big bucks and rake in the profits do it right and get Spider-man, X-men, and the Fantastic Four back under the Disney/Marvel umbrella. Please for the love of god stop Fox from finger-banging the X-men franchise. I will say "Amazing Spider-man 2" looks pretty damn cool though.
- The new look Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have made their first public appearance, and I have to say that I really like the look of the bros. and the Shredder. Each turtle has their own unique style that makes them more individualized than different color bandanas. I think that a lot of people are not giving this a chance because Michael Baysplosion is involved, but I think a lot of what has been coming out about this film looks promising.
-Finally....."Empire Magazine" has released 25 covers celebrating "X-men: Days of Future Past" I hope that I'm wrong but to me it looks like Singer has chosen to Twighlight-ize the X-men franchise. The look of Quicksilver alone is enough to turn this blogger's stomach.
That's all for today! Happy reading and see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Think about how great "Godfather I" & "Godfather II" are in juxtaposition to the third chapter. George Lucas brought us one of the grandest epics we have ever seen but it is hard to argue that "Return of the Jedi" was really the best way to finish that series.
Recently we watched our favorite armored hero Tony Stark go out with a whimper in "Iron Man 3" and we have third chapters of "Kick-Ass", "Thor", and "Captain America" coming down the pipe. I would argue that the "Iron Man" franchise went off the rails during the second chapter, but I digress.
Narrow focusing on comic movies one could say that "Spider-man 3" and "The Dark Knight Rises" were not the ideal note to end a series on. I think the two of these series exemplify why it is so hard to succeed in a final chapter.
If we look comparatively the first film in both series "Spider-man" & "Batman Begins" respectively Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan had a very clear idea of what they wanted to accomplish. They took a "Who am I?" and "How did I come to be?" approach. This is very basic for the origin story, and is not much different from any other first chapter. The first chapter of both films concluded with a neophyte hero at the end of the very beginning of their journey.
The second chapter is a little bit harder to nail down a summary theme; however, I would generally refer to it as "Where am I going?" and "Why do I continue?" In the interest of full disclosure I will admit that "Spider-man 2" and "The Dark Knight" are my two favorite superhero movies of all-time so I am a little biased. A common theme between these two movies is that both heroes have felt the overwhelming burden of the sacrifices that they have had to make to be a hero.
Parker and Wayne are both desperately searching for a way out. Parker has begun to lose his powers and sees it as a sign to walk away, whereas Wayne sees DA Harvey Dent as a man that can do what Batman does without the mask. Their paths diverge a bit toward the end though and Parker finds that he can make responsible choices, but MJ can also make choices. Wayne makes an end-times sacrifice to try to cement his legacy through a straw man Harvey Dent.
Raimi and Nolan had different approaches to the third chapter of their film series. Raimi had every intention of continuing on with the "Spider-man" franchise while it was widely regarded that Nolan intended to bring his Dark Knight epic to a close. This influenced the choices that they made and makes it very hard to find a common theme between the two films other than they were a disappointing end to a film trilogy.
In all honesty it's hard to say what Raimi's motivation was when directing "Spider-man 3". The film is over saturated with villains, plot twists, and character changes. Venom was probably one villain too many in retrospect, but Raimi felt the need to add him out of fan service. He also tried to end Harry's arch, add the Stacys, tell the Sandman's story, give story service to Peter & MJ's relationship, portray Peter's turn to the dark side, and throw in the Raimi humor with J. Jonah Jameson and the rest. It was just too much for a 2 1/2 hour movie. Character development is always a good thing in storytelling, but the character development in "Spider-man 3" made Peter look like a person with bipolar disorder.
"The Dark Knight Rises" was a fun movie overall, but it was plagued with several problems and logical inconsistencies. The most troubling for me, was that Bruce Wayne used his parents death to fashion himself into a living weapon in the last two features only to QUIT BEING BATMAN because his "kind of" girlfriend died. It would've been much easier to accept that he had been working in the shadows for 8 years under the radar. Bane was a fantastic villain, and it was acceptable that the film came full circle with the addition of an Al Ghul but there were a lot more failures than wins on the whole. After two mostly grounded and realistic-ish movies Nolan took the opportunity of the third film to have some really BOMBASTIC stuff that was completely unnecessary. I know I'm dogging on the movie but I would have to rank The Dark Knight trilogy in my top five for sure.
Other Great Moments in Third Chapter History....
-Emo Parker dance routine (Spider-man 3)
-Clark Kent vs. Evil Cigarette Smoking Superman (Superman III)
-Bat-Nipples (Batman Forever & Batman & Robin)
-The Mandarin Twist (Iron Man 3)
-ThunderLips "the ultimate male" (Rocky III)
-Not Peter Weller Robo-cop (Robo-cop III)
-Robot Ninjas (Robo-cop III)
-"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" (Star Wars ep. III)
- JAWS 3-D (Jaws 3-D)
-Ratner (X-3: The Last Stand)
-Axel Fox (Beverly Hills Cop III)
-"Talk to Da Hand" (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
-Turtles in TIME (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III)
That's another column in the books.....just a few news items worth note...mostly rumors so take them with a grain of salt for now.....
- Word is that Lauren Shuler Donner over at Fox has her eyes set on Channing Tatum to take on the role of Gambit that was so inadequately filled by Taylor Kitsch in "X-men Origins: Wolverine". Tatum is still not great casting for this specific role in my eyes, but as I have said before it is more important in this stage of the game to amass star-level talent. Tatum could sell a shit sandwich on the side of the road he's so hot right now.
- ALLEGEDLY.....Marvel's long-range planning for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe involves centering "Avengers" movies around Paul Rudd's Ant-man, the as-yet-uncast Dr. Strange, and other heroes not currently involved with the Avengers. This is in response to Robert Downey Jr.'s desire to walk away, and the likelihood that the ensemble cast is going to want another raise if "Avengers: Age of Ultron" succeeds comparably to the first film entry. My suggestion to Disney/Marvel would be that if you are going to shell out the big bucks and rake in the profits do it right and get Spider-man, X-men, and the Fantastic Four back under the Disney/Marvel umbrella. Please for the love of god stop Fox from finger-banging the X-men franchise. I will say "Amazing Spider-man 2" looks pretty damn cool though.
- The new look Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have made their first public appearance, and I have to say that I really like the look of the bros. and the Shredder. Each turtle has their own unique style that makes them more individualized than different color bandanas. I think that a lot of people are not giving this a chance because Michael Baysplosion is involved, but I think a lot of what has been coming out about this film looks promising.
-Finally....."Empire Magazine" has released 25 covers celebrating "X-men: Days of Future Past" I hope that I'm wrong but to me it looks like Singer has chosen to Twighlight-ize the X-men franchise. The look of Quicksilver alone is enough to turn this blogger's stomach.
That's all for today! Happy reading and see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
An add-on about Stan Lee, news, and other random topics
Hello there fellow Comic Fans and welcome to a brand new edition of The Comic Shop....
Before I get into the news of the day I just wanted to say a few more words about Stan Lee that I neglected to add into my last post.
One thing that I forgot to mention is that Lee also used his comics as an opportunity to comment on the various social ills of the time that he was living in. Whether it was racism, or other controversial topics he took a stand and put his name on his thoughts about the subject. It was a very progressive way of doing things, and it was not as welcomed in the time he was writing to speak out in support of certain things. He showed true courage by standing up for what he believed was right, and he is still supportive to social causes to this day by taking a stand for the creators of "Astonishing X-men" when they decided to have a homosexual couple marry in their book. After writing my column last week I finally sat down and watched "With Great Power" the Stan Lee documentary on Netflix and it is a fantastic look at Stan Lee.
On to the News.....
First...
Word broke earlier this week that the "Man of Steel" sequel project has been pushed back to a 2016 release. Lot of rumors are abound, but it seems the most likely scenario is that the brass at Warner have decided to film "MoSII" and "Justice League" back to back. This is generally cheaper on cost, and the actors can get everything in for both movies and then go on to other projects. I applaud that they are giving this some extra time because I am really hoping for them to do it right.
Second...
April solicitations for DC comics have confirmed that "Superman: Unchained", "Nightwing", "Suicide Squad", and "Teen Titans" are all coming to an end. While I'm glad that "Titans" and "Squad" are getting put out of their misery I'm going to be sad to see "Unchained" and "Nightwing" go.
Scott Snyder has been telling the best Superman story of the New 52 with "Unchained", and Jim Lee's artwork made Clark jump off the page. While "Nightwing" has been hit or miss Dick Grayson is one of my favorite characters in comics, so I'm hoping this is not signaling his death in the mega crossover event "Forever Evil".
Third....
A trailer has hit the interwebz for the DCAU movie "Son of Batman" which will be loosely based on Grant Morrison's "Batman & Son" arch of his run on the Dark Knight's main title. It's great to see Damien back, but it is a little confusing when they have their second movie of the New 52 DCAU based on a comic from pre-new 52 continuity. While he wasn't originally involved in the storyline I am always more than pleased to see Deathstroke in anything, because he is such a badass character.
As the Superior Spider-man turns.....
If you haven't picked up "Superior Spider-man" #25 DO IT NOW....this issue is double sized and it is setting up the main events that will play out in Spidey's life over the next year of story lines.
That's all I have for today. Be sure to "Like" my page on facebook (www.facebook.com/thecomicshopblog). I will be back later this week with more content.
Until next time....see you at The Comic Shop!
Before I get into the news of the day I just wanted to say a few more words about Stan Lee that I neglected to add into my last post.
One thing that I forgot to mention is that Lee also used his comics as an opportunity to comment on the various social ills of the time that he was living in. Whether it was racism, or other controversial topics he took a stand and put his name on his thoughts about the subject. It was a very progressive way of doing things, and it was not as welcomed in the time he was writing to speak out in support of certain things. He showed true courage by standing up for what he believed was right, and he is still supportive to social causes to this day by taking a stand for the creators of "Astonishing X-men" when they decided to have a homosexual couple marry in their book. After writing my column last week I finally sat down and watched "With Great Power" the Stan Lee documentary on Netflix and it is a fantastic look at Stan Lee.
On to the News.....
First...
Word broke earlier this week that the "Man of Steel" sequel project has been pushed back to a 2016 release. Lot of rumors are abound, but it seems the most likely scenario is that the brass at Warner have decided to film "MoSII" and "Justice League" back to back. This is generally cheaper on cost, and the actors can get everything in for both movies and then go on to other projects. I applaud that they are giving this some extra time because I am really hoping for them to do it right.
Second...
April solicitations for DC comics have confirmed that "Superman: Unchained", "Nightwing", "Suicide Squad", and "Teen Titans" are all coming to an end. While I'm glad that "Titans" and "Squad" are getting put out of their misery I'm going to be sad to see "Unchained" and "Nightwing" go.
Scott Snyder has been telling the best Superman story of the New 52 with "Unchained", and Jim Lee's artwork made Clark jump off the page. While "Nightwing" has been hit or miss Dick Grayson is one of my favorite characters in comics, so I'm hoping this is not signaling his death in the mega crossover event "Forever Evil".
Third....
A trailer has hit the interwebz for the DCAU movie "Son of Batman" which will be loosely based on Grant Morrison's "Batman & Son" arch of his run on the Dark Knight's main title. It's great to see Damien back, but it is a little confusing when they have their second movie of the New 52 DCAU based on a comic from pre-new 52 continuity. While he wasn't originally involved in the storyline I am always more than pleased to see Deathstroke in anything, because he is such a badass character.
As the Superior Spider-man turns.....
If you haven't picked up "Superior Spider-man" #25 DO IT NOW....this issue is double sized and it is setting up the main events that will play out in Spidey's life over the next year of story lines.
That's all I have for today. Be sure to "Like" my page on facebook (www.facebook.com/thecomicshopblog). I will be back later this week with more content.
Until next time....see you at The Comic Shop!
Monday, January 13, 2014
News...and a column about Stan Lee....true believers only!
Hello friends and welcome to the 1/14/2014 edition of the Comic Shop....
We have just a couple of news items today
First....
Michael "The Man from Catherine Zeta-Jones's Death Valley" Douglas has signed on to star in the big screen version of "Ant-Man". He will not play a cunning linguist, but rather he will be playing Hank Pym (the original Ant-man). As we already know Paul Rudd ("This is 40", "Knocked Up", "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers") has signed on to star in the Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz", "At the World's End") directed feature. What we now know is that Rudd (of "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" fame) will be playing the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang. Lang is a wrong-doer turned right, and I think it will be an uplifting story for the big screen adaptation of "Ant-Man". I have noticed that more and more we are seeing comedic actors being cast in dramatic roles to great effect. I think Rudd, who was a classically trained actor and starred in the super smash hit "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" will fit the Marvel movie mode nicely by being an action hero with a smart wit, and a quick sense of humor. The casting of Douglas was a little out of left field, but I would imagine they will be portraying Pym as a retired hero. They could also possibly strip him down to simply being a brilliant scientist. Either way this movie will likely be Marvel's biggest gamble of 2015, and I would argue that "Guardians of the Galaxy" will be their biggest gamble of 2014.
Second....
April solicitations are here and DC has announced that the new Flash creative team will be introducing Wally West to the New 52. It is hard to say where West fits in to the New 52 continuity, but other than Stephanie Brown he has been the character that fans have most been clamoring for to return.
While I'm glad he is back I still wish that DC would take my unsolicited advice and create an Earth 4 where Dick Grayson is Batman, Wally West is Flash, Damien Wayne is still alive, and several other editorial edicts are no longer in place. This would give fans the option to choose between the current New 52 continuity & the pre-New 52 continuity.
Third....
April solicitations have also signaled a likely end to the "Superior Spider-man" title. I will be sad to see the title go, because Spidoc was such a breath of fresh air to the Spider-man character. How often in comics do we see circular storytelling? For instance how many different times will we be presented with "Joker did this awful thing to Batman will Batman kill him? I think he might do it this time? Nope never mind".
I could only hope that the success of "Superior Spider-man" would have the lasting legacy on editors at Marvel & DC. I hope that it will show them that if they are willing to make radical changes it can pay off in the long run.
That's all for news...on to the column!
Comic history is littered with a litany of claims to certain creative properties. Did Bob Kane wholly create Batman or did Bill Finger help? How much of an impact did Kirby, Ditko, and others have on the characters that Lee takes credit for creating?
Getting in to that portion of the argument is a rabbit hole that I, for one, do not want to go down. I would rather talk in general terms about the impact of characters that Lee created or helped to create. Please note when I say "he created" in this blog I am not trying to take credit away from anyone else.
Stan Lee has had a fantastic career in comics. It is easy to be glib about his creations and note that a majority of them have powers bestowed on them by rays, isotopes, and other radioactive materials. The heart of what Lee created; however, was so much more than that.
He created comics that taught kids about science. Think about the concepts introduced with different characters. With the X-men he introduced kids to the concept of evolution. With the Fantastic Four he introduced kids to the concept of cosmic rays. In the pages of the Hulk he introduced the gamma rays. In Spider-man & Daredevil he talked about radiation. Obviously a lot of what he introduced was to an absurd degree, but it was an introduction of concepts that could inspire young minds.
In the documentary "The Men Without Fear", about the character Daredevil, Lee stated that he would purposefully use "big words" to encourage children to either learn them from the context of the story, or to encourage them to look up the words in the dictionary. His thought was that if he told an engaging enough story the child would do everything they could to understand everything about the story.
For my money Lee's greatest contribution to comics and other media has been the character Spider-man. To understand why I say this I will refer to my previous blog post "The Hero's Journey".
In the pages of Daredevil and the Hulk Lee introduced Matt Mourdock & Bruce Banner. Mourdock & Banner were heroes before they were even touched by the warm embrace of radiation. Mourdock leapt to action when he saw that an old man was about to be run down by a truck, and that resulted in his blindness and superpowers. Banner was a scientist that acted heroically when he saw a young man wander onto a gamma radiation test site. Banner saved the young man, but became the living embodiment of the Jekyll/Hyde complex.
With the creation of Peter Parker Lee turned his storytelling paradigm on it's ear. Lee introduced a nerdy, gangly kid that you wouldn't even give a second look. Parker, after being bit by a radioactive spider, chose the path of selfishness. When his selfishness directly led to the death of a beloved family member Parker chose to use his powers for good out of obligation. With this Lee introduced that "with great power comes great responsibility" and through that creed he taught, what I believe, is the greatest moral lesson in comics ever.
In Parker, Lee also introduced a character that was not too dissimilar from the reader of the comic. At his inception Parker was a teenager. He was young and naive, he struggled to make money, had all sorts of trouble with women, and he had many other everyday issues that effected him. This wasn't completely unique in this one character, but it has become the staple for Spider-man storytelling for decades.
Lee may have not been the sole creator of any of these characters, but I think it is impossible to deny his involvement.
I hope to one day meet him so I can thank him for his contributions to the medium that I love so much, and to ask him about superhero genitalia. Just like Brodie in "Mallrats" I often wonder about the Thing, for instance, does he have a rock down there?
That's all for today....see you at the Comic Shop!
We have just a couple of news items today
First....
Michael "The Man from Catherine Zeta-Jones's Death Valley" Douglas has signed on to star in the big screen version of "Ant-Man". He will not play a cunning linguist, but rather he will be playing Hank Pym (the original Ant-man). As we already know Paul Rudd ("This is 40", "Knocked Up", "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers") has signed on to star in the Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz", "At the World's End") directed feature. What we now know is that Rudd (of "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" fame) will be playing the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang. Lang is a wrong-doer turned right, and I think it will be an uplifting story for the big screen adaptation of "Ant-Man". I have noticed that more and more we are seeing comedic actors being cast in dramatic roles to great effect. I think Rudd, who was a classically trained actor and starred in the super smash hit "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" will fit the Marvel movie mode nicely by being an action hero with a smart wit, and a quick sense of humor. The casting of Douglas was a little out of left field, but I would imagine they will be portraying Pym as a retired hero. They could also possibly strip him down to simply being a brilliant scientist. Either way this movie will likely be Marvel's biggest gamble of 2015, and I would argue that "Guardians of the Galaxy" will be their biggest gamble of 2014.
Second....
April solicitations are here and DC has announced that the new Flash creative team will be introducing Wally West to the New 52. It is hard to say where West fits in to the New 52 continuity, but other than Stephanie Brown he has been the character that fans have most been clamoring for to return.
While I'm glad he is back I still wish that DC would take my unsolicited advice and create an Earth 4 where Dick Grayson is Batman, Wally West is Flash, Damien Wayne is still alive, and several other editorial edicts are no longer in place. This would give fans the option to choose between the current New 52 continuity & the pre-New 52 continuity.
Third....
April solicitations have also signaled a likely end to the "Superior Spider-man" title. I will be sad to see the title go, because Spidoc was such a breath of fresh air to the Spider-man character. How often in comics do we see circular storytelling? For instance how many different times will we be presented with "Joker did this awful thing to Batman will Batman kill him? I think he might do it this time? Nope never mind".
I could only hope that the success of "Superior Spider-man" would have the lasting legacy on editors at Marvel & DC. I hope that it will show them that if they are willing to make radical changes it can pay off in the long run.
That's all for news...on to the column!
Comic history is littered with a litany of claims to certain creative properties. Did Bob Kane wholly create Batman or did Bill Finger help? How much of an impact did Kirby, Ditko, and others have on the characters that Lee takes credit for creating?
Getting in to that portion of the argument is a rabbit hole that I, for one, do not want to go down. I would rather talk in general terms about the impact of characters that Lee created or helped to create. Please note when I say "he created" in this blog I am not trying to take credit away from anyone else.
Stan Lee has had a fantastic career in comics. It is easy to be glib about his creations and note that a majority of them have powers bestowed on them by rays, isotopes, and other radioactive materials. The heart of what Lee created; however, was so much more than that.
He created comics that taught kids about science. Think about the concepts introduced with different characters. With the X-men he introduced kids to the concept of evolution. With the Fantastic Four he introduced kids to the concept of cosmic rays. In the pages of the Hulk he introduced the gamma rays. In Spider-man & Daredevil he talked about radiation. Obviously a lot of what he introduced was to an absurd degree, but it was an introduction of concepts that could inspire young minds.
In the documentary "The Men Without Fear", about the character Daredevil, Lee stated that he would purposefully use "big words" to encourage children to either learn them from the context of the story, or to encourage them to look up the words in the dictionary. His thought was that if he told an engaging enough story the child would do everything they could to understand everything about the story.
For my money Lee's greatest contribution to comics and other media has been the character Spider-man. To understand why I say this I will refer to my previous blog post "The Hero's Journey".
In the pages of Daredevil and the Hulk Lee introduced Matt Mourdock & Bruce Banner. Mourdock & Banner were heroes before they were even touched by the warm embrace of radiation. Mourdock leapt to action when he saw that an old man was about to be run down by a truck, and that resulted in his blindness and superpowers. Banner was a scientist that acted heroically when he saw a young man wander onto a gamma radiation test site. Banner saved the young man, but became the living embodiment of the Jekyll/Hyde complex.
With the creation of Peter Parker Lee turned his storytelling paradigm on it's ear. Lee introduced a nerdy, gangly kid that you wouldn't even give a second look. Parker, after being bit by a radioactive spider, chose the path of selfishness. When his selfishness directly led to the death of a beloved family member Parker chose to use his powers for good out of obligation. With this Lee introduced that "with great power comes great responsibility" and through that creed he taught, what I believe, is the greatest moral lesson in comics ever.
In Parker, Lee also introduced a character that was not too dissimilar from the reader of the comic. At his inception Parker was a teenager. He was young and naive, he struggled to make money, had all sorts of trouble with women, and he had many other everyday issues that effected him. This wasn't completely unique in this one character, but it has become the staple for Spider-man storytelling for decades.
Lee may have not been the sole creator of any of these characters, but I think it is impossible to deny his involvement.
I hope to one day meet him so I can thank him for his contributions to the medium that I love so much, and to ask him about superhero genitalia. Just like Brodie in "Mallrats" I often wonder about the Thing, for instance, does he have a rock down there?
That's all for today....see you at the Comic Shop!
Friday, January 10, 2014
A new year a new look...and other random things
Hello Readers!
As you can see I took some time today to update the overall look of The Comic Shop. I hope the new page is fluid in use, and easy on the eyes.
First...
When I started writing this blog I had no idea what I was going to do with it. A quick scan of my blogger history shows how many times I've started to write something, but give up when I struggled for content. I do truly enjoy writing this blog and it is a joy for me.
With that it mind I want to extend the offer to any reader that I will publish guest editorials about any topic in the comics realm with no prior restraint. Obviously I won't publish anything that is hate speech or anything like that, but within reason. I really want to open up discussion, and what better way to do that than to open up the opportunity for counterpoints to my own editorials, or new points of view about issues in comics.
Any submissions should be made to johnnyleffler1116@gmail.com
Second...
If you haven't checked it out yet "Detective Comics #27" hit the shelves this week, and it is very cool. At $8 it's a bit of a steep price, but it is well worth it. It comes in tradepaperback form and has a collection of stories by a who's who of writers celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Dark Knight.
Third....
As reported by various media outlets "All Hail the King" the Marvel short attached to the home video release of "Thor: The Dark World" will not in fact feature Loki (Tom Hiddleston), but rather pick up the story of Trevor Slatterly/The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). SPOILER DISCUSSION
..........................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................................
While I found the Mandarin twist in IM 3 to be a little less than riveting it does sound like a wonderful name for a mixed drink. Ben Kingsley is too high of a profile actor to be regressed to playing a druggie, actor, dolt. I can only hope that "All Hail the King" sets in motion events that will make Kingsley the right and truthful Mandarin for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is incredibly disheartening for Marvel/Disney to sign an actor of Kingsley's ilk and only use him as a punchline. It is as disappointing as Hugo Weaving only signing on for one appearance as the Red Skull to this point, or the fact that they brought in Hollywood heavyweights like Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel to do voice-over work for "Guardians of the Galaxy".
Fourth.....(spoiler-ish)
Upon further review it appears that the Ultimate Universe is not going away after all, and will instead be rebooted as Ultimate Marvel NOW! This is unfortunate for this blogger, because I had hoped to see Miles Morales in the Marvel 616. We will have to put a pin in that idea for now.
Fifth.........
A leaked image from Marvel solicitations for April's books spoiled the return of "The Amazing Spider-man" to store shelves. It looks like Otto's days running around in Pete's body are numbered at this point. It will be interesting to see how Slott & Ramos weave the status changes during the "Superior Spider-man" run into the future for the fan-favorite Peter Parker.
Sixth...and final
There are a LOT of rumors flying right now about the upcoming "Man of Steel" sequel right now. In the last few days I have read several.
The first is that Affleck's Batsuit will be similar in appearance to the artwork of Alex Ross (one could postulate Black leather cape/cowl and a gray bodysuit).
The second is that Bryan Cranston is again being rumored to play Lex Luthor. I for one would be all for this as I am an unabashed fan of "Breaking Bad" and Cranston's performance made that show an all-time favorite.
The third rumor is that Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and the rest of the Amazons will share heritage with Kryptonians. This one is a bit of a stretch, and will be hard to get by comic fans in general. I can see story-wise how it would make sense so that Clark can learn more about the history of Krypton, and we know from the established continuity in "Man of Steel" that there were Kryptonian colonies on several different worlds. I'll admit I'm not a fan of this idea, but I am trying my best to keep an open mind with all the news items associated with this film. This will either be a dynamite success, or a dysfunctional shitshow. I'm obviously pulling for the former, but the more I hear the more I'm inclined to anticipate the latter.
Until next time...Happy Reading!
As you can see I took some time today to update the overall look of The Comic Shop. I hope the new page is fluid in use, and easy on the eyes.
First...
When I started writing this blog I had no idea what I was going to do with it. A quick scan of my blogger history shows how many times I've started to write something, but give up when I struggled for content. I do truly enjoy writing this blog and it is a joy for me.
With that it mind I want to extend the offer to any reader that I will publish guest editorials about any topic in the comics realm with no prior restraint. Obviously I won't publish anything that is hate speech or anything like that, but within reason. I really want to open up discussion, and what better way to do that than to open up the opportunity for counterpoints to my own editorials, or new points of view about issues in comics.
Any submissions should be made to johnnyleffler1116@gmail.com
Second...
If you haven't checked it out yet "Detective Comics #27" hit the shelves this week, and it is very cool. At $8 it's a bit of a steep price, but it is well worth it. It comes in tradepaperback form and has a collection of stories by a who's who of writers celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Dark Knight.
Third....
As reported by various media outlets "All Hail the King" the Marvel short attached to the home video release of "Thor: The Dark World" will not in fact feature Loki (Tom Hiddleston), but rather pick up the story of Trevor Slatterly/The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). SPOILER DISCUSSION
..........................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................................
While I found the Mandarin twist in IM 3 to be a little less than riveting it does sound like a wonderful name for a mixed drink. Ben Kingsley is too high of a profile actor to be regressed to playing a druggie, actor, dolt. I can only hope that "All Hail the King" sets in motion events that will make Kingsley the right and truthful Mandarin for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is incredibly disheartening for Marvel/Disney to sign an actor of Kingsley's ilk and only use him as a punchline. It is as disappointing as Hugo Weaving only signing on for one appearance as the Red Skull to this point, or the fact that they brought in Hollywood heavyweights like Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel to do voice-over work for "Guardians of the Galaxy".
Fourth.....(spoiler-ish)
Upon further review it appears that the Ultimate Universe is not going away after all, and will instead be rebooted as Ultimate Marvel NOW! This is unfortunate for this blogger, because I had hoped to see Miles Morales in the Marvel 616. We will have to put a pin in that idea for now.
Fifth.........
A leaked image from Marvel solicitations for April's books spoiled the return of "The Amazing Spider-man" to store shelves. It looks like Otto's days running around in Pete's body are numbered at this point. It will be interesting to see how Slott & Ramos weave the status changes during the "Superior Spider-man" run into the future for the fan-favorite Peter Parker.
Sixth...and final
There are a LOT of rumors flying right now about the upcoming "Man of Steel" sequel right now. In the last few days I have read several.
The first is that Affleck's Batsuit will be similar in appearance to the artwork of Alex Ross (one could postulate Black leather cape/cowl and a gray bodysuit).
The second is that Bryan Cranston is again being rumored to play Lex Luthor. I for one would be all for this as I am an unabashed fan of "Breaking Bad" and Cranston's performance made that show an all-time favorite.
The third rumor is that Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and the rest of the Amazons will share heritage with Kryptonians. This one is a bit of a stretch, and will be hard to get by comic fans in general. I can see story-wise how it would make sense so that Clark can learn more about the history of Krypton, and we know from the established continuity in "Man of Steel" that there were Kryptonian colonies on several different worlds. I'll admit I'm not a fan of this idea, but I am trying my best to keep an open mind with all the news items associated with this film. This will either be a dynamite success, or a dysfunctional shitshow. I'm obviously pulling for the former, but the more I hear the more I'm inclined to anticipate the latter.
Until next time...Happy Reading!
Monday, January 6, 2014
The Hero's Journey...
Happy Snow Day!
I'll admit I broke down and bought a 5.99 copy of the Director's Cut of Daredevil a few days ago with an unexpected store credit at Disc Replay. Ah, the treasures of secondhand retailers!
Watching the movie got me thinking about Matt Mourdock's origins and then Bruce Banner's in the "Incredible Hulk". Upon further review I feel that in some way these movies missed the mark of what made these characters heroes to begin with.
Stan Lee's vision for Daredevil & Hulk were that they were heroes before they were imbued with unearthly powers. Matt Mourdock saved an old man from getting hit by a car and was blinded by a radioactive isotope. While Banner saved Rick Jones from the gamma rays that ultimately turned Banner into the Hulk.
Ultimately the choices made in these films cheapened the underlying heroism of the protagonist.
In "Incredible Hulk" the script called for Banner to inject himself with the eponymous super soldier serum and then get bombarded with gamma rays at the urging of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross. This versus the sacrifice of the original origin.
In "Daredevil" Matt Mourdock throws a hissy fit because his father is working as a leg-breaker for a local mobster and runs into the spray from an industrial accident.
I'm not sure why these choices have been made and we have seen it more and more. Script-writers, producers, and even comic companies (cough, cough, New 52) have chosen to make guilt the predominant call to action for their heroes instead of duty and obligation.
This past summer we watched the emo-est Superman of all time at the box office. He brooded, he screamed, he pondered, he felt guilt pangs over his father's sacrifice, and ultimately he was the Batman-est Superman possible. While some of that was balanced out by the sacrifice of his reveal it was difficult not to notice that he is not too dissimilar from the New 52 version of the big blue boyscout.
I'm not an old-time traditionalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I long for a return to heroes that choose to be heroes because it is the right thing to do. I could do with less of the tragic backstory and more of superheroes doing their thing for the common good.
So lets put the hero back in superhero and get back to telling fun stories with the occasional dark turn instead of the other way around.
Until next time...stay warm & stay safe!
-John
I'll admit I broke down and bought a 5.99 copy of the Director's Cut of Daredevil a few days ago with an unexpected store credit at Disc Replay. Ah, the treasures of secondhand retailers!
Watching the movie got me thinking about Matt Mourdock's origins and then Bruce Banner's in the "Incredible Hulk". Upon further review I feel that in some way these movies missed the mark of what made these characters heroes to begin with.
Stan Lee's vision for Daredevil & Hulk were that they were heroes before they were imbued with unearthly powers. Matt Mourdock saved an old man from getting hit by a car and was blinded by a radioactive isotope. While Banner saved Rick Jones from the gamma rays that ultimately turned Banner into the Hulk.
Ultimately the choices made in these films cheapened the underlying heroism of the protagonist.
In "Incredible Hulk" the script called for Banner to inject himself with the eponymous super soldier serum and then get bombarded with gamma rays at the urging of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross. This versus the sacrifice of the original origin.
In "Daredevil" Matt Mourdock throws a hissy fit because his father is working as a leg-breaker for a local mobster and runs into the spray from an industrial accident.
I'm not sure why these choices have been made and we have seen it more and more. Script-writers, producers, and even comic companies (cough, cough, New 52) have chosen to make guilt the predominant call to action for their heroes instead of duty and obligation.
This past summer we watched the emo-est Superman of all time at the box office. He brooded, he screamed, he pondered, he felt guilt pangs over his father's sacrifice, and ultimately he was the Batman-est Superman possible. While some of that was balanced out by the sacrifice of his reveal it was difficult not to notice that he is not too dissimilar from the New 52 version of the big blue boyscout.
I'm not an old-time traditionalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I long for a return to heroes that choose to be heroes because it is the right thing to do. I could do with less of the tragic backstory and more of superheroes doing their thing for the common good.
So lets put the hero back in superhero and get back to telling fun stories with the occasional dark turn instead of the other way around.
Until next time...stay warm & stay safe!
-John
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Race & Gender Issues in Comics & Related Media
Greetings and Salutations!
Welcome to the first Comic Shop of 2014! I'm going to start off today with just a couple news items and then move on to the heart of today's topic.
First....
From the horse's mouth and multiple media outlets we have word that Box Office Mega Star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson took a meeting with the folks over at DC/WB. I could do fantasy casting speculation, but suffice to say as long as he is anything other than a talking tree or raccoon I will be happy. What we are witnessing right now are essentially 4 studios making a mad dash to grab talent for superhero franchises. Marvel/Disney, Fox, Sony, & DC/WB are trying to swallow up as much acting talent as they can for their cinematic universes. There are a lot of opinions out there but I'd say grabbing one of the best Director/Actor/Legit Leading men & negotiating for the reigning box office king will be a coup for DC/WB.
Second...
Comicbookresources and other media outlets have let loose that there is a Marvel one-shot attached to the release of Thor: The Dark World on home video next month. Speculation of now is that Tom Hiddleston will star in a Loki-centric short. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, and be sure to check back with the Comic Shop for more updates as they become available.
On to the column.....
Race, gender, and gender identity have become a sort of hot-button issue in comics especially in the last few years. Whether it is publisher's deciding that Alan Scott should be gay, Ms. Marvel should be a Muslim, or Fox casting Michael B. Jordan to be Johnny Storm in an upcoming Fantastic Four reboot (or producers of The Flash Tv Show casting an african american woman as Iris West) it seems that not a decision goes by without being second guessed and criticized.
I have two distinct feelings on these matters and I will try to explain them to the best of my ability.
To start I feel that comics are a grand form of escapism. I feel that included in this escapism is inclusion of the highest sense. People from all walks of life read comics. If one were to be a fly on the wall in a local comic shop on a given day there would be people of all walks of life come through the doors. Business men and women read comics, kids read comics, alt. rockers, country crooners, professional wrestlers, and librarians read comics.
At the end of the day no matter how dark Gotham, Metropolis, or New York may be comics predominantly represent hope to people from all backgrounds. Spider-man (Peter, Otto, or Miles) would sling a web for any person in trouble whether gay, straight, transgendered, black, heavy-set, old, or young. I do not say these things to be glib, but it is important to remember that the comic industry casts a very large net in the types of customers they try to solicit. Changes to characters might not be something we agree with as a whole, but if making a homosexual Green Lantern makes some kid feel better about being different and being an outcast then I find that to be the best kind of change that we could hope for.
With movie casting I can understand the trepidation for having traditionally white or male characters played by a different race or gender. Lawrence Fishburn as Perry White and the introduction of Jenny Olsen in Man of Steel rubbed some people the wrong way. I can completely understand that, but I also think that if we want great films we need these producers and directors to get the best people possible for the roles. Also we need to find ways to make characters that have become parodies of themselves to have a new angle. Michael B. Jordan is a fantastic actor and he was amazing in "Chronicle". There are a lot of ways to explain story-wise why Johnny and Sue are mixed raced siblings without spending more than 5 minutes of screen time. What it comes down to at the end of the day is that these are fictional characters I think I would have less of an issue with Jamie Foxx as Batman than I would with Tyler Perry as Abraham Lincoln.
My second feeling about race & gender issues is slightly counter to my first, but not in a huge way. I feel that if we are going to makes changes or introduce new characters to reach this broader base they need to be well written, and done so in such a way that makes them an awesome character that happens to be part of a societal subset. When I think of Green Lantern John Stewart I think of a former Marine, a guy who makes a lot of gun constructs, and he happens to be black. People love Miles Morales Spider-man and are excited to see him come over to the Marvel 616. Initially Marvel caught some flack for killing off Peter Parker in the Ulitmate Universe and replacing him with Miles; however, to Brian Michael Bendis' credit he created a fun, engaging, kid-character, that happened to be of a mixed race background. I have seen things from more than one Marvel fan that said Miles made Spider-man fun again, and some have even suggesting adding him to the Sony Spider-man franchise if Andrew Garfield decides to step away after ASM 3.
As with all things I don't expect everybody to agree with me. I just wanted to put my point of view out there so that I could contribute to the discussion. If you feel the way that I do, or if you don't, vote with your dollars for what you want to see in comics in the future. I for one will be looking to invest in some Miles Morales ASAP.
That's all he wrote....see you next time....same Comic Shop Blog.....same Comic Shop Website.
Welcome to the first Comic Shop of 2014! I'm going to start off today with just a couple news items and then move on to the heart of today's topic.
First....
From the horse's mouth and multiple media outlets we have word that Box Office Mega Star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson took a meeting with the folks over at DC/WB. I could do fantasy casting speculation, but suffice to say as long as he is anything other than a talking tree or raccoon I will be happy. What we are witnessing right now are essentially 4 studios making a mad dash to grab talent for superhero franchises. Marvel/Disney, Fox, Sony, & DC/WB are trying to swallow up as much acting talent as they can for their cinematic universes. There are a lot of opinions out there but I'd say grabbing one of the best Director/Actor/Legit Leading men & negotiating for the reigning box office king will be a coup for DC/WB.
Second...
Comicbookresources and other media outlets have let loose that there is a Marvel one-shot attached to the release of Thor: The Dark World on home video next month. Speculation of now is that Tom Hiddleston will star in a Loki-centric short. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, and be sure to check back with the Comic Shop for more updates as they become available.
On to the column.....
Race, gender, and gender identity have become a sort of hot-button issue in comics especially in the last few years. Whether it is publisher's deciding that Alan Scott should be gay, Ms. Marvel should be a Muslim, or Fox casting Michael B. Jordan to be Johnny Storm in an upcoming Fantastic Four reboot (or producers of The Flash Tv Show casting an african american woman as Iris West) it seems that not a decision goes by without being second guessed and criticized.
I have two distinct feelings on these matters and I will try to explain them to the best of my ability.
To start I feel that comics are a grand form of escapism. I feel that included in this escapism is inclusion of the highest sense. People from all walks of life read comics. If one were to be a fly on the wall in a local comic shop on a given day there would be people of all walks of life come through the doors. Business men and women read comics, kids read comics, alt. rockers, country crooners, professional wrestlers, and librarians read comics.
At the end of the day no matter how dark Gotham, Metropolis, or New York may be comics predominantly represent hope to people from all backgrounds. Spider-man (Peter, Otto, or Miles) would sling a web for any person in trouble whether gay, straight, transgendered, black, heavy-set, old, or young. I do not say these things to be glib, but it is important to remember that the comic industry casts a very large net in the types of customers they try to solicit. Changes to characters might not be something we agree with as a whole, but if making a homosexual Green Lantern makes some kid feel better about being different and being an outcast then I find that to be the best kind of change that we could hope for.
With movie casting I can understand the trepidation for having traditionally white or male characters played by a different race or gender. Lawrence Fishburn as Perry White and the introduction of Jenny Olsen in Man of Steel rubbed some people the wrong way. I can completely understand that, but I also think that if we want great films we need these producers and directors to get the best people possible for the roles. Also we need to find ways to make characters that have become parodies of themselves to have a new angle. Michael B. Jordan is a fantastic actor and he was amazing in "Chronicle". There are a lot of ways to explain story-wise why Johnny and Sue are mixed raced siblings without spending more than 5 minutes of screen time. What it comes down to at the end of the day is that these are fictional characters I think I would have less of an issue with Jamie Foxx as Batman than I would with Tyler Perry as Abraham Lincoln.
My second feeling about race & gender issues is slightly counter to my first, but not in a huge way. I feel that if we are going to makes changes or introduce new characters to reach this broader base they need to be well written, and done so in such a way that makes them an awesome character that happens to be part of a societal subset. When I think of Green Lantern John Stewart I think of a former Marine, a guy who makes a lot of gun constructs, and he happens to be black. People love Miles Morales Spider-man and are excited to see him come over to the Marvel 616. Initially Marvel caught some flack for killing off Peter Parker in the Ulitmate Universe and replacing him with Miles; however, to Brian Michael Bendis' credit he created a fun, engaging, kid-character, that happened to be of a mixed race background. I have seen things from more than one Marvel fan that said Miles made Spider-man fun again, and some have even suggesting adding him to the Sony Spider-man franchise if Andrew Garfield decides to step away after ASM 3.
As with all things I don't expect everybody to agree with me. I just wanted to put my point of view out there so that I could contribute to the discussion. If you feel the way that I do, or if you don't, vote with your dollars for what you want to see in comics in the future. I for one will be looking to invest in some Miles Morales ASAP.
That's all he wrote....see you next time....same Comic Shop Blog.....same Comic Shop Website.
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